HOW TO FIND A GOOD CHURCH

How to Find a Good Church

Almost 25 questions that will save you a lot of Sundays

Looking for a good church? Join the club.  Church-shopping can be a long and painful process.

To shorten your search, call the pastor of the church before you visit and ask the following

questions. This might save you a lot of Sundays.

1. What is man's biggest problem?

Seeker sensitive and felt-needs churches focus on man's hurts and problems. The Bible says

that man's biggest problem is sin.

2. What must a man do to inherit eternal life?

Repent and trust is the Biblical answer. If the word "repent" is never used, say, "Thank you."

3. How do you deliver the salvation message?

Ask the pastor to describe specifically what he says.  Does he encourage people to simply say a prayer? Does he tell people to ask Jesus into their hearts?  The salvation message should include: God's holiness, man's sinfulness, God's response (hell), God's kindness (Jesus on the cross), man's response (repentance and faith).

4. How hard is it to become a Christian?

The "formula" is simple, doing it is not.  It is not easy to believe.

5. How often do you talk about sin, righteousness and judgment?

Balance is key. This should not be the only emphasis, but it should be a regular emphasis. 

6. How seeker sensitive is your church?

It is o.k. for a church to be "seeker aware" but seeker sensitive means that they lean toward

seekers and not the saved.

7. Who do you do church for, seekers or members?

"Both" is not acceptable. Church should be done for members and the unsaved are welcome to attend.

8. Do you dumb down your sermons?

If he says yes, he is probably not trying to wean his members from milk to meat. Answers like,

"We try to make our sermons accessible to everyone" are sermons that are not meaty.

9. What is your mixture of topical vs. expository preaching?

Topical preaching is fine, but if a pastor never or rarely preaches expositionally (verse by verse),

then you are going to be learning from the pastor and not God's Word.

10. Do your sermons emphasize theology or are they relevant?

Everyone should say their sermons are relevant, what you are looking for is if they teach

theology.

11. Describe your youth programs.

If fun and games is the major (and usually first) emphasis, you have a youth program that is trying

to compete with MTV.

12. Describe your evangelism programs.

Don't just accept, "We have an evangelism committee." Dig. Are they serious about saving

souls?

13. What church growth model do you follow?

Hopefully they don't have one. Churches should be reaching out to the lost, but churches that

are plugged into new church growth models tend to follow man's modern ideas rather than the

Bible.

14. How much do you give to missions and the hungry?

Again, this reveals the heart of the church. While most churches give to missions, many never

consider the poor.

15. Do you believe the Bible contains no errors or contradictions?

No equivocation allowed here.

16. Do you believe in a literal 6 day creation?

Jesus did (Matt.19:4).

17. Do you believe in a literal hell and eternal punishment?

Jesus did (Matt.25).

19. When you distribute the Lord's Supper, do you emphasize the need to examine

yourself?

Paul did (I Cor.11:27-32).

20. Can a person who is living in a persistent lifestyle of sin inherit eternal life?

Sinners can certainly be forgiven, but practicing sinners cannot inherit eternal life (I John 3:8,9).

21. Does your church exercise church discipline?

Paul said we should (I Cor.5).

22. Do Sunday school teachers, nursery, and youth volunteers fill out an application to answer questions about their core beliefs, or are all volunteers accepted?

23.What are the essentials of the faith?

Father, Son, Holy Spirit, Salvation through faith alone, the inerrancy of Scripture.

24. Do you have a cross in your sanctuary?

Many remove it because they fear it will turn off seekers.  They should glory in the cross.

The cross should be the central focus of every church.

By Todd Friel Email: todd@wayofthemasterradio.com Click here for bio and archived articles

Look for the Church of Christ (Iglesia Ni Cristo) to find the truth! Posted On: 05/16/11 09:02:55 PM Age 0, CA I was baptized 10 years ago in this Church. What many people know is that Christ died on the cross, but what they don't know is for what. Christ died for his Church. You may find this verse in Acts 20:28 Lamsa Translation. God wants his people to worship him in Truth and in Spirit. Look for this Church (worldwide locations) nearest you and be sure to ask questions so that you will understand the Truth! 9 Marks (by Mark Dever) Posted On: 02/18/09 11:57:59 AM Age 35, TX On this website, you can type in your zip code and hopefully find solid churches in your area: http://www.9marks.org/ How to Find a Good Church Posted On: 10/24/08 09:21:17 AM Age 43, VA I agree with your list with the exception of #16. After reading many of your posts and pointing out Pastors who misquote the bible you are now guilty of quoting a verse out of context. Matt.19:4 has nothing to do with Jesus verifying the number of days in creation. First, let me establish that I am NOT an evolutionist (although microevolution takes place). I do not believe God established through his word in Genesis, or anywhere else in the Bible, that he created everything in a “literal 6 days”. The Hebrew word used for day in Genesis is YOM, which can also can mean a period of time. Science agrees with the Bible in that the universe was developed over a phased period of time. Plants, animals then humans (Adam and Eve) were introduced in phases (not evolved) which science and the Bible both agree on. God is the creator of everything. Proven scientific discoveries are the discovery of God’s creativity. Insisting on a literal 6 creation days is pointless if that is not God’s intent of the scripture. The Bible is not the blueprint plans or schematic of creation. It gives a very basic outline of creation where God established that he is the creator of everything. The Bible is about man’s relationship with God. Finally, God created time and is therefore not bound by time (2 Peter 3:8). I do not know why God chose a long period of time to create but we know that God is purposeful in everything that he does. Perhaps the time he used is like the difference between the taste of a meal out of a box or a good gourmet meal. looking for a new Church home Posted On: 05/26/08 11:30:30 AM Age 45, MD My wife and i have had many problems getting the help we needed to maintain a healthy marriage. We are an interracial couple with adult children from previous marriages. I am African American, she is Spanish/Native American. We want a church with a five fold ministry, and a mixed population; that has a marriage ministry...I am called to ministry and want to continue the process of education were ever we go... # 16 how to find a church Posted On: 12/12/07 12:24:55 PM Age 43, ID Nice list. I have a probelm with number 16, " do you believe in a literal six day creation, Jesus did." My main point of contention is that Jesus doesn't talk about days, number of days, or anything remotely close to a time frame of creation in the quoted scripture; Mathew 19:4. He says... " He who created them from the beginning." He acknowledges that they were created in the beginning. Which is an undeniable truth of scripture,(we were created.)I find your argument at best misdirection, at the worst use of deciet to make a theological yet unessential point. If you can show me any where in scripture that we must believe in a litteral six day creation for salvation, I will change my mind. I came to Christ believing in an old universe and (e gads!) evolution. I have since discovered that there is no scientific evidence for Macro or Darwinian evolution, hence I don't believe it. It's clearly not the truth.I believe God created us and the universe, however, science seems to point to a very ancient universe. Biblical scholars (both Jewish and Christian) have honest intelluctual disagreements regarding the meaning of "days" and the so called "gap", etc... In the end, setting up stumbling blocks of beleif which have nothing to do with believing in christ may keep people away, who might otherwise come. Let me reiterate; the age of the earth, and the meaning of 'day' in Genesis is NOT the Gospel which we are to believe unto salvation. It is an unessential theological belief as far as our eternal life goes. How to find a church Posted On: 12/07/07 05:53:07 AM Age 25, SOUTH AFRICA I love the list but # 24 which is about the cross i do not believe.The Holy Spirit tells you when there is something amiss in a church.We cannot help the fact that some people have lost their first love for God, we must pray for them and believe God that they will change. Some people say that it is recorded in the bible that in the last days these things will happen but I believe as children of God we must pray that those that God has called will not be lost. I see some people talk about honouring the Sabbath day but when you read further in the new testament Paul addressed the people and said that they must on longer judge each other according to the days in which they worship. How to find a church Posted On: 12/07/07 05:52:06 AM Age 25, SOUTH AFRICA I love the list but # 24 which is about the cross i do not believe.The Holy Spirit tells you when there is something amiss in a church.We cannot help the fact that some people have lost their first love for God and they put in their own agendas, we must pray for them and believe God that they will change. Some people say that it is recorded in the bible that in the last days these things will happen but I believe as children of God we must pray that those that God has called will not be lost. I see some people talk about honouring the Sabbath day but when you read further in the new testament Paul addressed the people and said that they must on longer judge each other according to the days in which they worship. Re: How to Find a Good Church Posted On: 08/28/07 10:46:46 AM Age 50, PA Why even go to church? With so many false churches and heritical doctrines I've found it very much better to not attend at all. I've found some very harmful and hurtful churches. Just because they fly the fish / cross banner does not make them a necessarily safe Christian entity. I choose to simply not attend. I don't see where this is a sin. The Word does say "Do not forsake the assembly." but I don't think it's a sin not to attend. Re: How to Find a Good Church Posted On: 04/18/07 04:53:37 PM Age 68, TN Thank you for this list. I am looking for a new church home but am having a hard time finding one that I trust. I have been in a very abusive church situation and certainly don't want to land in another. This list is a good start. Thanks. Re: How to Find a Good Church Posted On: 03/19/07 05:05:39 PM Age 34, UK Many good points you have made but I make some points in return. i) When you ask who the service of worship is for, the only 2 answers you can think of are in effect "church members" or "unbelievers". I think that a service of worship should be for God alone. Am I nit-picking here? ii) I think the existence of an evangelism team is a very positive thing. Too many churches lack the vision to even think about having a team of people to co-ordinate out-reach to the community. iii) It's already been said but your point about having a cross in church is slightly over-blown. Would you like to see the ten commandments painted in large letters on the wall behind the preacher too? However, it's good that you have put these questions on the net. Christians need to use their brains once in a while. :)